Orthodontic device

ABSTRACT

Mobile orthodontic device of a functional type comprises a pair of posterior lateral bites ( 2 ) in the form of metal plates connected together by means of a metal wire ( 4 ). The posterior bites ( 2 ) are designed to be set freely floating between the upper dental arch and the lower dental arch. The device also comprise a pair of vestibular shields ( 3 ), made, for example, of synthetic material, associated, respectively, to the two posterior lateral bites ( 2 ). The device is without palatal plate, so that the metal wire ( 4 ) constitutes the only connection between the posterior lateral bites ( 2 ). The device can comprise an anterior bite ( 6 ) in the form of a metal plate connected to the two vestibular shields ( 3 ) through a second metal wire ( 5 ). There may moreover be present one or more lateral expansion springs ( 7 ), designed to act on the molars, and one or more anterior expansion springs ( 8 ), which act on the incisors.

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

Forming the subject of the present invention is an orthodontic device,in particular an orthodontic device of a functional or functionalizingtype. By “functional devices” is meant those orthodontic devices that,in order to develop forces on the teeth or on the maxillar muscles,exploit in part the muscle tone or modify balancing between the musclesexternal and internal to the dental arches.

Orthodontic devices, and in particular functionalizing orthodonticdevices are used for correction of the malocclusions and for thedentofacial dysformoses. Said devices achieve an orthodontic effect,i.e., an effect linked to the movement of the teeth, and also anorthopaedic effect, in so far as they rebalance and guide the growth ofthe bone bases on which the teeth are anchored.

Functionalizing devices, as opposed to fixed devices used for treatingmisalignments, are principally used in orthognathodontics for modifyingbad habits and incorrect functions during childhood and adolescence.

Functional devices have a favourable effect on growth and development ofthe dental arches and the jaws, acting both on the bone component and onthe muscular component. They have a cost generally lower than that offixed braces, are prepared directly in the laboratory, and do notrequire particular equipment for adjustment and adaptation thereof. Amajor advantage of functional devices is that they do not createdifficulties as regards oral hygiene since they do not anchor to theteeth and are removed during meals.

Known in the art are orthodontic device, which comprise at least onepair of posterior lateral bites in the form of a metal plates providedwith means for mutual connection, designed to be set freely floatingbetween the upper dental arch and the lower dental arch, and a pair ofvestibular shields, made, for example, of synthetic material,associated, respectively, to the two posterior lateral bites. The meansfor connection of the posterior lateral bites are constituted by atleast one metal wire that connects together the two vestibular shields,or directly the two posterior lateral bites.

The vestibular shields intercept the masticatory muscles and muscles ofthe cheeks during swallowing (deglutition of saliva); the movements ofthese muscles develop forces that through the orthodontic device aretransmitted to the teeth.

Orthodontic devices of this type are completely free devices, i.e., theyare not fixed in any way to the teeth, are free to move between theupper dental arch and the lower dental arch, and render the mandiblefree to reposition itself in space improving the functionality of thetemporomandibular articulation.

Current orthodontic device further comprise a palatal plate, i.e., anelement made of resin shaped on the mould of the palate of the patientusing the device.

The palatal plate is obtained starting from the mould of the hollow ofthe palate of the patient. The presence of the palatal plate thusrenders said type of devices not suitable for industrial massproduction. This of course has a repercussion also on the final cost ofsaid devices and on production times given that they must be madeindividually and personalized on the anatomical characteristics of thepatient. Moreover, in the case where the braces are designed for a smallchild, the operation of making the mould of the palate is difficult andproblematical.

The object of the present invention is to provide orthodontic device ofthe type specified above that will enable to overcome the above referreddrawbacks.

The aim of the present invention is moreover to achieve said result withorthodontic device having a relatively simple and low-cost structure,which will in particular be simple and fast to produce, albeit keepingunaltered the characteristics of functionality of the device itself.

In order to achieving said purposes, forming the subject of the presentinvention are orthodontic device of the above referred type,characterized in that the devices are without the palatal plate so thatthe aforesaid at least one metal wire constitutes the only connectionbetween the posterior lateral bites.

Preferably, the orthodontic device according to the invention furthercomprise an anterior bite in the form of a metal plate, designed to beset freely floating between the upper dental arch and the lower dentalarch in a position corresponding to the incisors.

Moreover, in a preferred embodiment of the orthodontic device theanterior bite is fixed to a second metal wire that connects togethereither the two vestibular shields, or alternatively the two posteriorlateral bites.

The anterior bite may be a single bite in the form of a metal plate orelse a double bite comprising two metal plates set above one another andat a distance apart, joined together in a central portion so as tobestow elastic properties thereon.

In some embodiments, there may be provided one or more lateral expansionsprings, which are connected directly to the vestibular shields and aredesigned to act on the molars. In addition, some more completeembodiments also comprise one or more anterior expansion springs, whichare designed to act on the incisors and are carried preferably by theaforesaid lateral expansion springs.

Finally, in some embodiments the vestibular shields are asymmetrical.

Thanks to the aforesaid characteristics, the orthodontic deviceaccording to the invention enable all the favourable characteristics ofexcellent functionality to be maintained, at the same time renderingsimpler and less costly their production, hence overcoming the drawbacksset forth above.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge fromthe ensuing description with reference to the annexed drawings, whichare provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of embodiment of theorthodontic device according to the present invention, in its basicform; and

FIGS. 2 to 6 are further examples of embodiment of the orthodonticdevice of FIG. 1.

The drawings show, purely by way of non-limiting example, differentembodiments of mobile orthodontic device according to the presentinvention. It is evident that the details of construction of saidorthodontic devices that are described herein for completeness, could beobtained in any other known way, without prejudice to the fact that theprinciple of the invention lies in the absence of the palatal plate andin the fact that the metal wire constitutes the only element ofconnection between the two posterior lateral bites.

With reference now to the example represented in the drawings, thereference number 1 designates as a whole a removable orthodontic deviceof a functional or functionalizing type. The device comprise a pair ofposterior lateral bites 2 in the form of metal plates connected togetherby means of a metal wire 4. The two posterior lateral bites 2 aredesigned to be set freely floating between the upper dental arch and thelower dental arch, and in particular at the height of the molar teeth.During use of the device, the two metal plates 2, which aresubstantially rectangular and have rounded edges, are set between theupper molars and the lower molars and prevent them from bearing upon oneanother. In particular, the metal plates 2 come into contact with theportion of the molar occlusal table.

Associated to each posterior lateral bite 2 is a vestibular shield 3made of synthetic material, such as for example resin. In particular,with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, alongitudinal end portion 2 a of the metal plate 2 is received andembedded in the synthetic material that constitutes the vestibularshield 3. The vestibular shields 3, in the form of a cushion, on oneside face the internal wall of the cheeks and during swallowingintercept the movements of the internal muscles (the masseter or themasticatory muscles), and on the other come into contact with theexternal walls of the molar teeth.

The two posterior metal bites 2 are connected together by a metal wire4, normally made of steel. In the embodiments illustrated in thedrawings, in actual fact the metal wire 4 connects the two vestibularshields 3 together. Alternatively, in one embodiment not illustrated inthe figures, the metal wire 4 connects directly the two posteriorlateral bites 2 together.

In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the terminal portions 4 aand 4 b of said metal wire 4 are received and withheld within thevestibular shields 3. The metal wire 4 is shaped so as to reproduce thecurvature of the upper arch and is shaped to fit in the hollow betweenthe upper lip and the external wall of the upper teeth. Preferably, saidwire 4 has in its portions close to the vestibular shields two curvedportions 4 c set apart from one another. The curved portions 4 c enablethe wire 4 to be more elastic and adjustable to adapt to themorphological structure of the patient.

In the absence of the palatal plate, the metal wire 4 constitutes theonly element of connection between the two posterior lateral bites 2.

With reference to FIG. 2, the orthodontic device also comprise ananterior bite 6 in the form of a metal plate, designed to be set freelyfloating between the upper dental arch and the lower dental arch in aposition corresponding to the incisors. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the anterior bite 6 is connected to the two vestibular shields 3through a second metal wire 5. The ends 5 a and 5 b of said metal wireare also embedded in the vestibular shields 3.

With reference to FIG. 3, in an alternative embodiment the anterior bite6 is of a double type comprising two metal plates 6 a and 6 b set aboveone another and at a distance apart and joined together in a centralportion by a bent back portion 6 c. The two metal plates 6 a and 6 b aresubstantially semicircular in shape. The two metal plates are joinedtogether in the central portion of the diameter. The bent back portion 6c bestows elastic properties on the anterior bite 6. Moreover, the bentback portion 6 c has a width smaller than the overall diameter of theplates 6. The bottom plate 6 a in use comes into contact with the teethof the lower arch whilst the plate 6 b comes into contact with the teethof the upper arch. The double bite is generally made of a single pieceby moulding, and subsequently bent back to bestow on it the shaperepresented in the drawings.

With reference to FIG. 4, the orthodontic device can moreover comprisetwo lateral expansion springs 7. The expansion springs 7 are metal wiresbent back that are designed to act on the molars exerting a slightpressure thereon. One end 7 a of the springs 7 is directly connected tothe vestibular shields 3, whilst the other end 7 b is free.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, there are also present twoanterior expansion springs 8, designed to act on the incisors. Theanterior springs 8 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 are directlyconnected to the aforesaid lateral expansion springs 7.

Finally, in one embodiment (not illustrated) the vestibular shields 3can be asymmetrical so as to generate different forces on the two sidesof the mouth of the patient.

Thanks to the conformation of the orthodontic device according to theinvention, the aforesaid drawbacks are all amply overcome. Theembodiments vary with respect to one another starting from a moreessential form illustrated in FIG. 1 to arrive at a more complete form(illustrated in FIG. 6).

Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, thedetails of construction and the embodiments may vary, evensignificantly, with respect to what has been illustrated herein purelyby way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from thesphere of protection of the invention, said sphere of protection beingdefined by the annexed claims.

1. Orthodontic device of a functional or functionalizing type,comprising: at least one pair of posterior lateral bites in the form ofa metal plates provided with means for mutual connection, designed to beset freely floating between the upper dental arch and the lower dentalarch; and a pair of vestibular shields, made, for example, of syntheticmaterial, each associated to each of the two posterior lateral bites,said means for connection of the posterior lateral bites beingconstituted by at least one metal wire, which connects together eitherthe two vestibular shields or directly the two posterior lateral bites,said device being characterized in that it is without palatal plate sothat said at least one metal wire constitutes the only connectionbetween said posterior lateral bites.
 2. The orthodontic deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an anteriorbite in the form of a metal plate, designed to be set freely floatingbetween the upper dental arch and the lower dental arch in a positioncorresponding to the incisors.
 3. The orthodontic device according toclaim 2, characterized in that the anterior bite is fixed to a secondmetal wire that connects together either the two vestibular shields orthe two posterior lateral bites.
 4. The orthodontic device according toclaim 2, characterized in that said anterior bite is a single bite inthe form of a metal plate.
 5. The orthodontic device according to claim2, characterized in that said anterior bite is a double bite comprisingtwo metal plates set above one another and at a distance apart, joinedtogether in a bent-back central portion so as to bestow elasticproperties on the anterior bite.
 6. The orthodontic device according toclaim 1, characterized in that it comprises one or more lateralexpansion springs, which are designed to act on the molars and areconnected directly to the vestibular shields.
 7. Orthodontic deviceaccording to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises one or moreanterior expansion springs, which are designed to act on the incisorsand are carried by the aforesaid lateral expansion springs.
 8. Theorthodontic device according to claim 1, characterized in that saidvestibular shields are asymmetrical.